1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to fly reel drag direction changers and, more particularly, to a structural and functional improvement in such changers for more easily changing the drag direction of the fly reel in accordance with right-handed fishermen and left-handed fishermen and causing no disturbance in spool rotation for retrieving the line and no clicking sound except for the drag sound.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a typical fly reel is provided with a drag power controller for controlling the spool drag power or the rotating force of a spool, for example, during flying and casting the line.
Due to the above drag power controller, the rotating force of the spool is controlled to let the fishhook, along with the float, fly and be thrown to a desired point and to prevent possible backlash caused by over-rotation of the spool. The drag power controller also varies the resistance to the line release when the spool is rotated during the playing of the hooked fish.
It is well known in the prior art that right-handed fishermen differ from left-handed fishermen in the rotating directions of their spools applied with the drag power.
That is, the spool rotating direction for flying and casting the line in the case of a right-handed fisherman is same with the spool rotating direction for retrieving the line in the case of a left-handed fisherman. In this regard, the rotating direction of the drag power controller in cooperation with the spool must be reversed when the fly reel for a right-handed fisherman is used by a left-handed fisherman.
In order to achieve the above object, several types of fly reel drag direction changers have been proposed and used. A representative example of the typical drag direction changers is shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C.
FIG. 6A is a exploded perspective view of a fly reel with the typical drag direction changer. As shown in the drawing, the fly reel 50 has a spool 16 which is mounted to the shaft 13 of a reel frame 11 such that the spool 16 is rotatable relative to the frame 11. The drag direction changer 56 is fitted over the frame shaft 13.
The drag direction changer 56 gears into the drag power controller 54 and engages with a drag sound claw 55 and in turn cooperates with the spool 16. The controller 54 and the claw 55 are mounted on the frame 11 at opposite sides of the changer 56 respectively.
As best seen in FIG. 6B, the drag direction changer 56 includes a rotating wheel 59 and a drag gear 57. The drag gear 57 is fitted over the wheel 59 such that they are independently rotatable. The wheel 59 is provided with a ratchet 60 on its inner surface facing to the drag gear 57, while the drag gear 57 is provided with a stopper 58 formed of a rolled spring steel plate. The stopper 58 is mounted to the gear 57 by means of a pin 58a(see FIG. 6C) and biased by its own spring force so as to elastically engage with the ratchet 60 of the wheel 59 and to let the ratchet 60 unidirectionally rotate the drag gear 57. That is, rotation of the spool 16 is accompanied with rotation of the wheel 59. The wheel 59 in turn rotates the drag gear 57 unidirectionally. The drag gear 57, which is rotated along with the spool 16, is applied with controlled rotation restricting force of the drag power controller 54.
In order to cause the drag power in spool rotation in the above case, the drag gear 57 must be rotated by the rotational force of the wheel 59. This is achieved by letting the ratchet 60 of the wheel 59 be engaged with the stopper 58 of the gear 57 and by making the rotational force of the wheel 59 be transmitted to the drag gear 57. In FIG. 6C, when the ratchet 60 is rotated counterclockwise, the ratchet 60 will be engaged with the stopper 58 so that the drag gear 57 will be rotated by the rotational force of the wheel 59. However, when the ratchet 60 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 6C, the stopper 58 can not be engaged with the ratchet 60 so that the rotational force of the wheel 59 can not be transmitted to the drag gear 57 and can not rotate the gear 57.
Otherwise stated, opposite directional rotation of the spool 16 is accompanied with opposite directional rotation of the wheel 59. When the spool 16 is rotated in a direction such that the rotating ratchet 60 is stopped by the stopper 58, the rotation of the spool 16 causes rotation of the drag gear 57. In this case, the drag power by the drag power controller 54 acts on rotation of the spool 16. However, when the spool 16 is rotated in the other direction such that the stopper 58 can not stop the ratchet 60, the rotation of the spool 16 can not cause rotation of the drag gear 57. In this case, the spool 16 along with the wheel 59 is rotated alone and the drag power does not act on rotation of the spool 16.
When the drag gear 57 is rotated by the rotational force of the wheel 59, the drag sound claw 55 gearing into the drag gear 57 generates a drag sound informing the fisherman of the line dragging motion. In addition, the rotated drag gear 57 has the rotational force controlled by the drag power controller 54.
When the above drag direction changer 56 is inversely fitted over the frame shaft 13, the fly reel achieves a motion similar to the above-described motion. However, the rotating direction of the wheel 59 in this case will be reversed. Therefore, the above drag direction changer 56 can change the line dragging direction of the fly reel in accordance with right-handed fishermen and left-handed the drag direction with ease, causes no disturbance in spool rotation for retrieving the line and causes no clicking sound except for the drag sound.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a fly reel having a spool rotatably fitted over a frame shaft, a drag disc selectively rotating only when the spool is rotated in a given direction, a drag power controller restricting the rotation of said drag disc to restrict the rotation of the spool in the given direction, and a drag direction changer rotatably fitted over the frame shaft between the drag disc and the spool, rotating the drag disc only when the spool is rotated in the given direction and changing the rotational direction of the drag disc or the drag direction in accordance with a right-handed fisherman and a left-handed fisherman by being fitted over the frame shaft either in a normally fitted position or in a inversely fitted position, wherein said drag direction changer comprises: a ratchet member having a ratchet gear part formed on the circumference of the ratchet member, a circular silent cam slot formed on the circumference of the ratchet member, and a first coupling means for coupling the ratchet member to the spool and making the ratchet member rotated along with the spool in opposite directions; a silent cam elastically received in said silent cam slot such that said silent cam is rotated along with the ratchet member due to elasticity but simply slides in the silent cam slot when the elasticity is fishermen.
That is, the line dragging direction of the fly reel can be easily reversed by simply fitting the drag direction changer 56 and agreeable to fishermen regardless of their being right-handed or left-handed.
However, the above drag direction changer has a problem in that as the stopper 58 made of a spring steel plate comes into elastic contact with the ratchet 60 to transmit the rotational force of the ratchet 60 in one direction only, the stopper 58 generates a clicking sound when the spool 16 is rotated in a direction such that it, without generating the drag power, retrieves the line. The clicking sound generated by the stopper 58 is not distinguished from the drag sound of the claw 55 and makes the drag motion be indistinct.
Also, it is preferred to make no disturbance in the rotation of the spool in order to retrieve the line with small force. However, the wheel is always applied with the biasing force of the elastic stopper and, as a result, causes a disturbance in the rotation of the spool for retrieving the line.